Norwegian MP says V-Day Celebration could be arena for dialog

“What happens in Ukraine today is very challenging. However, we should distinguish these two events from each other. Being present in Moscow is an opportunity for dialog and talks with the Russian leadership about the challenges today’s Europe is facing,” says Kåre Simensen to BarentsObserver.

Simensen represents Finnmark in the Parliament. The county is Norway’s northernmost and borders Russia’s Kola Peninsula to the east.

Last January, Kåre Simensen initiated a Norwegian, Russian friendship association for Parliamentarians both in the Norwegian Storting and in the Russian State Duma. The association is aimed at discussing both difficult and challenging issues.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg in March announced that she has turned down the invitation to attend the Victory parade on the Red Square. Invited by President Vladimir Putin, the Norwegian Prime Minister is among many Western leaders that will not go.

Parliament Member Simensen underlines that it is his personal opinion that the Victory day celebration is not the right place to stay away from.

“In respect for those who gave their lives for our freedom through heroic effort, it is my personal opinion that the leaders of Western countries, including Norway, should be present in Moscow,” says Simensen.

He underlines, however, the respect for the decision Erna Solberg and the Government have taken and will not in any way protest the decision.

“I am a great supporter of dialog, especially in a situation like now. Our experiences from the north show that interaction and people-to-people cooperation is important. Learning to know each other on both sides of the border creates trust and good friends should be able to talk about difficult issues as well. One such occasion and venue for talks could be the Victory day celebration in Moscow on May 9th,” Kåre Simensen elaborates.

“I think dialog is better than a cold shoulder. The celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII is worth marking also from the Western side,” Simensen says pointing to the fact that millions people both in the West and not least in the Soviet Union lost their lives in the battles against Nazi-Germany.

In the north, Mayor Cecilie Hansen of Sør-Varanger municipality bordering Russia, says to Sør-Varanger Avis that she will certainly be present at the WWII victory anniversary celebration to take place in Pechenga on May 9th. Pechenga is bordering Norway and were liberated from Nazi-German troops by the Red Army already in October 1944.

In addition to the state leaders from Finland, Sweden and Norway, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister British Prime Minister David Cameron has also declined the May 9th invitation to Moscow. The leaders of Poland, USA and the Baltic states are also boycotting. So are European Council President Donald Tusk and Netherland’s Prime Minister.

Czeck Republic, Cuba, China, India and North Korea are among the countries that have confirmed their intent to arrive in Moscow.